Florida Manatees

Description:

There was a very large group of manatees spotted in the waters at the Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Florida. West Indian manatees are large, gray aquatic mammals with bodies that taper to a flat, paddle-shaped tail. They have two forelimbs, called flippers, with three to four nails on each flipper. Their head and face are wrinkled with whiskers on the snout. One of the manatee's closest relatives is the elephant. The average adult manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds.

Habitat:

Within the United States, they are concentrated in Florida in the winter. These manatees were spotted at the Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, florida.

Notes:

Blue Spring State Park covers more than 2,600 acres, including the largest spring on the St. Johns River. Blue Spring is a designated Manatee Refuge and the winter home to a growing population of West Indian Manatees.